


the other side of sorrow

by adarksweetness



Category: Marvel 616, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: 616/MCU crossover, Angst, Avengers team - Freeform, Captain America/Iron Man Remix 2018, Hydra Steve Rogers (mentioned), Multiverse crossover, Remix
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-24
Updated: 2018-02-24
Packaged: 2019-03-23 14:06:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13789311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adarksweetness/pseuds/adarksweetness
Summary: MCU Steve travels to Earth-616 to bring Tony home, and is found by the resistance in Secret Empire. It's a lot to take in.





	the other side of sorrow

**Author's Note:**

  * For [laireshi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/laireshi/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Heart With No Companion](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13260504) by [laireshi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/laireshi/pseuds/laireshi). 
  * In response to a prompt by [laireshi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/laireshi/pseuds/laireshi) in the [Cap_Ironman_Remix_Madness_2018](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/Cap_Ironman_Remix_Madness_2018) collection. 



> Unbeta'd and my first time writing for 616; all mistakes are mine.

When the portal spits him out, Steve lands on his knees, feeling weak and heavy in a way he hasn’t since 1942. The sky is iron gray, blocked in parts by ruined gray buildings, and the air is thick with dust. It all looks vaguely familiar, but interdimensional travel really takes it out of him, and Steve only makes out the blurred edges of broken gilt signage before realizing he’s in Las Vegas. Or, what’s left of it. 

 

The smoking crater where an honest-to-god city once stood unsettles his already frayed nerves, but Steve summons the presence of mind to take the key wrapped around his palm and slip it into a concealed pocket. There are voices behind him, gruff and urgent. Steve can’t tell if they’re friends or enemies, and in any case, he isn’t combat ready, so he might as well protect the key to returning home. 

 

The voices get closer. Now, Steve can see silhouettes in the dusty morning light, moving and coalescing into familiar shapes, but the armor spangled in cyan blue is not the Iron Man he knows. The others⸺ heroes, he supposes optimistically⸺ similarly allude to the teammates he’d once fought beside, but they’re not the same. The only person who comes reasonably close is…

 

“Hawkeye?” Steve squints, hand over his eyes to block the sun. 

 

“Can it,” comes the response. Hawkeye’s bow is drawn, arrow notched, and the man himself frowns. 

 

Steve channels his strength into rising off one knee. “My name is Steve Rogers, and I’m⸺”

 

“I said, shut up!”

 

The arrow flies, and Steve screams at the ringing in his ears before blacking out. 

 

***

 

He comes to with a gasp. His instincts to get up, fight, and get out are hindered by manacles chaining him to a wall. It’s cold in here, nearly freezing, and judging by the array of dangling hooks and rows of plastic bins, he’s in a meat locker, probably deep inside on the ruined hotels. The faded brand name etched into the door is not one he recognizes, so he doesn’t even have an idea of where he’s located in this dystopian Las Vegas.  

 

And the chains, they hold even against his strength, which is concerning at the very least. The Hawkeye who put him here is nowhere to be seen, but the door to the small room opens, and someone else Steve knows walks in.

 

Natasha looks at him with nothing less than pure hatred. Her voice is like cracking ice when she says, “You’re awake.” 

 

“Please,” Steve begins cautiously. “I’m not looking for any trouble, I’m just here to find someone.”

 

When Natasha says nothing, he continues. “I’m from an alternate universe, another Earth, and I’ve been told the man I’m looking for is here.” Steve pauses. “Are you an Avenger, Natasha?”

 

“I am the Black Widow,” she retorts. “Who is it you’re looking for?”

 

“I saw someone with you, wearing an Iron Man armor,” Steve replies. “In my world, the man who created that armor, he’s- well…”

 

Natasha leans on a stainless steel prepping counter, where Steve can now see several knives. “Your friend?” she asks, casually picking at a nail. “Arch nemesis? Drinking buddy?”

 

Steve hesitates, then settles on, “It’s complicated.”

 

For a fraction of a second, he thinks he can see Natasha roll her eyes. But he doesn’t have time to contemplate the gesture because the door to the locker flies open and Falcon marches in. He makes a snappy turn when he’s in front of Steve, then makes a fist above his chest. “Hail Hydra!”

 

Steve grows terribly cold in one moment, and sees red in the next. 

 

“What did you do to him?!” he snarls at Natasha, now hating her as much she seemed to hate him. The wall behind him strains as he pulls at the manacles, and the unyielding chains dig into Steve’s shoulders. He’s moments from either escaping or dislocating his shoulders. He doesn’t care. 

 

“What the  _ fuck _ did you do to Sam?”

 

“Hey, relax,” Sam raises both hands placatingly. “It was a test. We’re sorry we have to pull this kinda shit, but life came fast at all of us.”

 

Steve slows down, though his heart keeps pounding behind his chest and the ringing in his ears isn’t all from the chains. Natasha presses on a clicker, and the manacles go slack. Steve stumbles forward.

 

“Let’s go,” Natasha says, pointing at the door with her chin. “We’ll explain everything.”

 

***

 

Steve watches a perverted version of himself give a speech with bile rising in his throat. The Steve Rogers of this Earth is everything he’d fought his whole life to end; he’s a monster justifying the slaughter of hundreds, shilling the empty glory of a false empire.

 

The laminated table cracks under Steve’s fist when he stands up, unable to watch any more. 

 

From what Hawkeye says, he’s not a clone, nor is he brainwashed. It’s just Steve Rogers⸺ the guy who used to be Captain America. The guy who fought the very scum he was now leading into war and terror. 

 

“Then, why haven’t you killed him?” Steve demands. “How can you sit here and watch while he does what he does?”

 

“He’s not wrong,” Natasha comments. “Maybe we were hoping he is not our Steve Rogers, but the time for another chance is at an end, and we have to act to do the necessary.”

 

“Write me into the plan,” Steve says. “Whatever you need me to do, I will.”

 

“We’re not going to kill him,” Clint’s hand shakes as he massages his forehead. “This Cube thing rewrote history, and the real Steve is in there somewhere.”

 

Steve inhales sharply. “Thought you said it wasn’t brainwashing.”

 

“It’s complicated,” Hawkeye says, tiredly. 

 

“I disagree,” Steve retorts. “You say he’s not a clone, or an LMD. He’s not even being controlled. At this point, it’s not a choice, but your  _ responsibility _ to take him out. Who could possibly have convinced you it wasn’t?”

 

“That would be me,” comes a voice. 

 

Steve whirls around, fists still clenched. Tony walks into the room, all armored up and somewhat taller than Steve remembers. His eyes are deeper, more narrow, and...blue⸺ this is not the right Tony. The right Tony steps into view from behind this one; he’s stained with grease and has work goggles pushed up on to his head. Except for gauntlets that stop at his wrists, he doesn’t have armor. 

 

Steve’s breath catches when he sees him. Pride wars with guilt, making his throat numb, but it doesn’t stop him from wanting to go to Tony and ask him about, well,  _ everything _ . The irony of wanting to talk now doesn’t escape him. Steve feels the interdimensional key in his pocket, waiting to take them both back home. 

 

For his part, Tony’s eyes widen. “Well, what do you know?” he says. “Sorry, I guess I wasn’t really expecting it to be  _ you _ you, I mean, where did Strange even find you? This was his doing, right? Unless there are other shoddily calibrated multiversal bridges I didn’t know about.”

 

“I volunteered,” Steve says, voice soft. 

 

“Right,” Tony replies hastily, before Steve can add ‘ _ to bring you home’ _ . 

 

“Yeah, showing up in a doctor’s basement for a shady experiment, then getting dumped in the middle of a Nazi clusterfuck does sound like you.”

 

“Tony,” the armored Tony chides, just a little amused. Then, he turns back. “Steve Rogers from Earth-199999. I’d apologize for the cold welcome, but as you can see, we’re a bit short on the warm and fuzzies.”

 

They’re both deflecting, and his Tony doesn’t even have the benefit of the armor to cover his eyes. He doesn’t look at Steve. His right hand unconsciously massages his left wrist. It’s not like Steve expected Tony to be overjoyed to see him, but the silence hurts, nonetheless. He misses their affinity, as it ever was.

 

“You’re working on a way to beat the leader of Hydra,” Steve says. “I was telling the Black Widow here that I can help.”

 

The bigger Tony’s expression hardens and he folds his arms. “We’re working to save our fellow Avenger.”

 

“There’s nothing to save,” Steve argues without hesitation, because it’s still so easy to do that with Tony, any Tony. “Even if there was, how many more people would you let die?”

 

A number of murmurs start up among Natasha and Clint, among Sam and Raz. Steve feels the world get proverbially smaller, air charging between himself and Tony. And also Tony, who looks tortured behind his counterpart. 

 

“We’ve been in this fight from the beginning,” the Tony of this world snaps at him. “You show up two hours ago, and think you get to call the shots? You’re not the Captain America who counts here!”

 

“I’m not a Captain America anywhere,” Steve bites back. “But I’m Steve Rogers, so that’s gotta count for something. Let me tell you, if I were ever used like this; if my life costed even one innocent person theirs, I’d want you end me!”

 

“Damn it, Rogers!” his Tony takes a shaky breath. Steve notes how he’s got a hand on his other self, though it’s unclear who is being restrained. “Look, can we have a quick word? In private, please?”

 

The other Tony looks like he wants to argue, but Natasha just shrugs and points to the storage closets. “Take your pick.”

 

***

 

They head back to the meat locker, and as the door falls shut, Steve can already spot the others return to the debate. 

 

Tony immediately folds his arms. “You have to stop,” he says. “They’re not going to change their minds.”

 

Steve snorts. “Didn’t look like a consensus to me.”

 

“It’s not  _ about _ you, Rogers,” Tony counters. “And you have no idea what you’re getting into in this universe. If there was ever a time for you to just listen and stand down, it’s now.”

 

“How can you say that?” Steve demands, frustrated at how a decision as simple as opposing Nazis could be a conundrum here. “How can you look at all this and⸺ I meant what I said, Tony, if it were me...”

 

“But it’s not you,” Tony interrupts, finally letting anger color his voice. “You’re not the one he loves!”

 

Steve startles. “What?”

 

“Yeah, it’s a...thing,” Tony drops his gaze. His whole body vibrates with tension, and Steve can see his fists unclench only to clutch at his elbows. “The Tony out there, he loved his Steve for years, and now, he finds out some child-god fucked with his head and history? He’s not going to hunt someone who means that much. You, of all people, should understand.”

 

Steve swallows over the sound of blood pounding in his ears. “Natasha says it’s just a theory, passed on by a dead man,” he rasps. “Besides, who cares what he was before when this is who he is now? People can change without being compelled, Tony, or maybe they were never who you thought they were.”

 

Tony makes a noise, and Steve isn’t sure whether it’s a laugh or a sob. 

 

“It’s still not our theory to reject, is it?” he replies, lips curling into a rueful smile. “When I got here, Tony was in a coma and Hydra Cap, the evil Steve, was the one who found me first. He was still pretending to be good back then because he needed my help to wake Tony up. I didn’t suspect anything; he tried his best to make sure I wouldn’t, but eventually, even I could see the cracks. You say you’re somehow him, but you’re not. If you listen to those guys out there talk about the Steve they knew, then you’d get why nobody’s buying Hydra Cap’s act.”

 

Steve’s mouth goes dry. Tony slumps against a wall, looking wrung out. “What do you mean he tried his best?” he asks. “Tony, did he do something to you?” 

 

Steve can’t help it; his eyes search for the spot where Tony’s ARC reactor used to be. He doesn’t know if he has the right to be concerned, but he can’t  _ not _ be. For better or for worse, through civil wars or multiverses, Tony will always be important to him. 

 

“I slept with him,” Tony says. “Nobody else knows about that, except my wonder twin, but you might as well hear it from me. I know, I should have figured Hydra Cap out sooner, but he...”

 

Tony trails off and clutches at his left wrist again, massaging the joint anxiously. Steve stares back, speechless, while horror and protective rage battle it out in his chest. There’s something else, too: a pinprick of jealousy that has no business being there, but the image of  _ that _ delusional fascist touching  _ his _ Tony flashes in Steve’s head, and his face twists in disgust. 

 

“Tony,” he chokes the words out, taking a step forward. “Tony, if he forced you to do anything…”

 

“No,” Tony replies, quick and sharp, taking a mirror step back. “He didn’t. But I made a mistake, ok, I didn’t willingly get into into bed with a Na⸺” he comes to a shuddering stop, lips pursed as if he might vomit if he says one more word. 

 

Steve reaches out. “What? Tony, I didn’t say that.”

 

Tony scrubs a hand across his anguished face and schools his expression. “Yeah, well, bottom line: there is no mission to kill anybody. Deal.”

 

With that, he goes for the exit, but Steve moves fast enough to block it. He has so many questions, still, but Tony doesn’t give him that chance. He bangs urgently on the door. 

 

“Widow! Raz?”

 

Immediately, the latch opens from the outside, and Tony hurries out. Steve follows much more slowly, fully aware of the other Tony’s dark blue eyes on him. 

 

“I think,” that Tony says. “It’s time for you both to leave here.”

 

***

 

The resistance has a headquarters, where the lab belongs to Tony and whichever assistant is willing to tolerate him that day. There are also several young people who Steve recognizes by costume, but not name. The sleek new Iron Man he saw when he first got here is no man at all. Steve is in awe of Ironheart, even if seeing her makes him melancholy. He never made time to think about a legacy for himself.

 

She, Raz, and guest-Tony are discussing the implications of Dr. Strange’s interdimensional key pinging Hydra’s radar. The Tony who apparently loved his Captain America hovers at the edge of the festivities, and hands Steve a prepackaged sandwich and a mineral water. Steve wolfs both down embarrassingly fast. 

 

“So,” Tony says once they’re finished. “I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say you two are not quite on talking terms?”

 

Steve shrugs, and Tony just nods. “I suppose he told you why I’m not going to kill Captain America?”

 

“Yeah,” Steve confirms. “I gotta say it takes a strong stomach to look at a mass murderer like that.”

 

“Yet I hear you did it for your Bucky Barnes,” Tony replies smoothly. No qualms, no pettiness, just a straight shot. “You went to bat for someone who murdered Howard and Maria because you believed in justice for a man turned into a weapon for HYDRA against his will.”

 

Steve exhales, shaken. The memory of his fight with Tony echoes so vividly that he thinks he can feel the chill of Siberia and the moment of sickening lightness when he abandoned his shield. He hadn’t looked back to see Tony; it felt like too much of an indulgence as he prepared to march into a bleak future. He’d won, but one more win like that would end him totally. 

 

“I need you to understand,” Tony continues. “Those of us who knew Steve for years couldn’t tell anything was off because we just...trusted him. He used that trust and conned the hell out of me. He conned your Tony, too, but I guess it’s lucky yours wasn’t as easy of a mark.” 

 

Steve watches an emotion lurk under Tony’s eyes. “But you know what’s worse, don’t you? Knowing that my⸺  _ our  _ Steve is trapped somewhere inside that sorry fascist and I didn’t do enough to save him.”

 

That’s what it all comes down to, Steve thinks, and he wisely doesn’t ask when Tony thinks enough is enough. He knows the answer to that: you do what it takes, and when you find you’ve let too many devils out of the bottle, well, you deal with that, too.

 

“Bucky didn’t deserve to be punished for my mistakes,” Steve says. “But Tony is a good man, too, a hero, and the very last thing I wanted to do was hurt him. I just...I didn’t know, I thought I had it under control.” 

 

Steve thinks of Siberia, happy seconds when he really did have it all until his willful blindness caught up with them; how Bucky hurt because of it; how Tony’s heart shattered twice in a matter of minutes. If he ever had control, it was only months ago when he saw the dire image taking shape in SHIELD’s files.   

 

Tony looks distant, sympathetic. “I’ve been there,” he says. “But I think he’ll learn to love you again. My Steve did.”

 

***

 

Between the number of geniuses in one bunker, it doesn’t take long to figure out how to use Strange’s key and reopen the portal back to the right universe.

 

Steve clasps Tony wrist-to-wrist, the key wrapped around their arms. He tries to smile. “Ready?”

 

Tony nods, even meets his eyes for the briefest moment before turning away. He pretends to check on the machinery, but Steve doesn’t miss the way he glances at the group of heroes clustered together to see them off. That’s what Tony’s always wanted; for all that he wasn’t a team player, Tony did the most to keep the Avengers together. 

 

Steve wishes once again that he and Tony agreed about the Accords. Just like he wishes that Hawkeye and Iron Man of this world agreed with Natasha. 

 

But sometimes, there can be no compromise, and anyway, the Black Widow’s plans are no longer any of his business. That’s the last thing Steve thinks before Riri and Raz signal their Tony and everything goes white. 

 

***

 

It’s the little things that tell them they’re back in their universe. The air just smells right, and Steve hears Tony take a deep breath as soon as they land in Dr. Strange’s sanctum in Hong Kong. 

 

Strange’s assistant is quick to bring them cut glass tumblers of something that smells vaguely heady.

 

Tony stumbles back and shakes his head. “I don’t...I don’t drink anymore.” 

 

Strange looks mildly surprised, but he gestures and the carafe and tumblers turn into a tea set. 

 

The tea tastes horrible, but Steve feels his strength returning. The serum in his body must be helping because Tony doesn’t get back on his feet quite so quickly. Strange transports him to a chaise lounge to sleep the strain off.  

 

“Thank you for your help, Captain,” the sorcerer says. “I will debrief with Stark when he wakes; meanwhile, may I escort you somewhere?”

 

Steve should take him up on the offer seeing as fugitives didn’t have the luxury to linger, but he doesn’t. He can’t forget Tony describing how he woke up to a HYDRA pretender in the other universe; can’t forget the awful look on his face as he admitted to being manipulated. He can’t forget that, all in all, it’s just one more token of devastation beside the ones in Siberia. 

 

_ He’ll learn to love you again _ , the other Tony had said. Steve thinks it unlikely, but sneaking out after everything feels dishonest, and, for once, Steve wants to do right by the Tony he has. 

 

“Alright,” Strange agrees. “The Sanctum Sanctorum is yours as long as you need it, Captain.”

 

“Thank you,” Steve settles in the armchair beside Tony’s sleeping form, and waits wordlessly. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!


End file.
